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Hendersonville Mormons continue growth

Local Latter-day Saints will soon separate into two groups

Published: Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 11:21 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 11:21 a.m.

More than 550 Mormons will meet as one ward inside their Hendersonville chapel on Brevard Road for the last time this Sunday. After that, they will split. Because of continued growth, the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is branching off into two separate services to better handle the crowd. The Hendersonville First Ward of 300-plus members, who reside mostly west of Interstate 26, will meet Sundays at 9 a.m. led by Bishop Jere Hyder. The Hendersonville Second Branch of “170 souls” (east of I-26 and U.S. Highway 25), under the stewardship of President Ben Beasley, will meet on Sundays starting at 1 p.m. “Normally, we don't like to split a unit unless we can make them into two wards (congregations of 300 or more),” said Wallace Booth, president of the Asheville stake, which comprises 13 congregations in 17 North Carolina counties and two in Georgia. The church decided to split this one, he said, because of “major parking issues.” They had outgrown their chapel and were running out of room for other meetings.

The influence of presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been a factor in the church's growth, local members say.

Booth, a member of the Republican Party who was manning a booth at last weekend's Apple Festival, noticed interest among the crowd in the faith he shares with his party's nominee.

“We had a lot of people come up because that was Friday, the day after the Republican convention (ended).

They came up and asked me questions about the church,” he said. “I think that a lot of people are asking questions they ordinarily wouldn't.

“We think the open dialogue between people of different denominations and faiths is a very healthy thing,” said Beasley, who will lead his own congregation for the first time Sept. 16, after years of organizing the ward's annual Day of Service.

On that day each April, the congregation joins churches of different denominations and other organizations to make a difference in the community.

They help the less fortunate. They paint the homes of widows. They spruce up churches.

“It is a wonderfully unifying approach to Christianity where we identify what we have in common rather than what separates us. What we have in common is far more than what separates us,” Beasley said.

Hyder said that Mormons share many of the same beliefs of their Protestant brothers, including the belief in Jesus as the son of God who lived on Earth and died for the sins of mankind.

“One of the big misconceptions about the church — and we hear this all the time — is that Mormons are not Christian, but we are,” Hyder said.

“The name of the church is Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the reason (for) ‘of Latter-day Saints' is to distinguish us from the saints at the time of Christ.”

“The big difference,” he added, “is that we believe there is a prophet on the Earth today and apostles — and that's hard for a lot of people to accept, but it was hard for a lot of people to accept in Noah's day, too.”

The Mormons also meet a little longer than the typical church crowd. At least three hours are scheduled for church activities each Sunday, including a service in the chapel with hymns, an open podium to members and a sacrament, Sunday school and special study groups.

Men older than 18 attend the “priesthood,” receiving instruction and responsibilities in ministering the church and being fathers at home.

Women gather in a “relief society” to receive instructions on being mothers and wives.

On a tour of the church, Booth stopped at the last room at the end of a hall.

It hosts an early-morning class called “seminary” for 14- to 18-year-olds, who come for an hour of study before high school each day. Without a theological seminary for the Latterday Saints, congregations depend on the volunteer efforts of local members who rise to a “calling” of lay ministry.

Beasley, a jovial man of nearly 7 feet with a smile just as large, felt the calling, like the fisherman Peter, he said, who was called to be a “fisher of men.” Beasley will cast his net wide, organizing the new branch in addition to his full-time job as a real estate appraiser.

He grew up in the Episcopal Church, but joined the Latter-day Saints after reading the Book of Mormon, a publication still debated among Christians today.

Booth joined the church after pedaling missionaries dressed in suits and ties knocked on his door in Upstate New York. He was a 22-year-old college student at the time, and soon after hearing the word, he joined the church. Considered one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a total worldwide membership of more than 14.4 million. More than 78,000 Mormons reside in North Carolina. The Hendersonville church branched off from the growing Asheville Ward with about 120 members in the late 1970s.

Established then as the Hendersonville Branch, the congregation met in the Girl Scouts cabin near Five Points until the first phase of its new home was built in 1977.

Two phases of construction later, their meetinghouse at 2005 Brevard Road has nearly doubled from its original size.

Today, there is little room for expansion, but growth has remained steady. In the 1980s, the Brevard branch was formed from the burgeoning Hendersonville Ward.

“We expect that in a few years something similar will happen to our newly formed congregation,” Beasley said.

There are 138 temples, reserved for special services and training sessions, throughout the world. North Carolina holds an estimated 16 stakes, each representing a cluster of congregations.

“We just had two stakes created last year in the state,” Booth said.

“You'll ask, ‘Why is it so many people are Latterday Saints? Why is the church growing like it is?' And it's because we don't tell other people what to do or that we're right and they're wrong. We say, discover for yourself,” Beasley said.

<p>More than 550 Mormons will meet as one ward inside their Hendersonville chapel on Brevard Road for the last time this Sunday. After that, they will split. Because of continued growth, the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is branching off into two separate services to better handle the crowd. The Hendersonville First Ward of 300-plus members, who reside mostly west of Interstate 26, will meet Sundays at 9 a.m. led by Bishop Jere Hyder. The Hendersonville Second Branch of “170 souls” (east of I-26 and U.S. Highway 25), under the stewardship of President Ben Beasley, will meet on Sundays starting at 1 p.m. “Normally, we don't like to split a unit unless we can make them into two wards (congregations of 300 or more),” said Wallace Booth, president of the Asheville stake, which comprises 13 congregations in 17 North Carolina counties and two in Georgia. The church decided to split this one, he said, because of “major parking issues.” They had outgrown their chapel and were running out of room for other meetings.</p><p>The influence of presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been a factor in the church's growth, local members say.</p><p>Booth, a member of the Republican Party who was manning a booth at last weekend's Apple Festival, noticed interest among the crowd in the faith he shares with his party's nominee.</p><p>“We had a lot of people come up because that was Friday, the day after the Republican convention (ended).</p><p>They came up and asked me questions about the church,” he said. “I think that a lot of people are asking questions they ordinarily wouldn't.</p><p>“We think the open dialogue between people of different denominations and faiths is a very healthy thing,” said Beasley, who will lead his own congregation for the first time Sept. 16, after years of organizing the ward's annual Day of Service.</p><p>On that day each April, the congregation joins churches of different denominations and other organizations to make a difference in the community.</p><p>They help the less fortunate. They paint the homes of widows. They spruce up churches.</p><p>“It is a wonderfully unifying approach to Christianity where we identify what we have in common rather than what separates us. What we have in common is far more than what separates us,” Beasley said.</p><p>Hyder said that Mormons share many of the same beliefs of their Protestant brothers, including the belief in Jesus as the son of God who lived on Earth and died for the sins of mankind.</p><p>“One of the big misconceptions about the church — and we hear this all the time — is that Mormons are not Christian, but we are,” Hyder said.</p><p>“The name of the church is Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the reason (for) 'of Latter-day Saints' is to distinguish us from the saints at the time of Christ.”</p><p>“The big difference,” he added, “is that we believe there is a prophet on the Earth today and apostles — and that's hard for a lot of people to accept, but it was hard for a lot of people to accept in Noah's day, too.”</p><p>The Mormons also meet a little longer than the typical church crowd. At least three hours are scheduled for church activities each Sunday, including a service in the chapel with hymns, an open podium to members and a sacrament, Sunday school and special study groups.</p><p>Men older than 18 attend the “priesthood,” receiving instruction and responsibilities in ministering the church and being fathers at home.</p><p>Women gather in a “relief society” to receive instructions on being mothers and wives.</p><p>On a tour of the church, Booth stopped at the last room at the end of a hall.</p><p>It hosts an early-morning class called “seminary” for 14- to 18-year-olds, who come for an hour of study before high school each day. Without a theological seminary for the Latterday Saints, congregations depend on the volunteer efforts of local members who rise to a “calling” of lay ministry.</p><p>Beasley, a jovial man of nearly 7 feet with a smile just as large, felt the calling, like the fisherman Peter, he said, who was called to be a “fisher of men.” Beasley will cast his net wide, organizing the new branch in addition to his full-time job as a real estate appraiser.</p><p>He grew up in the Episcopal Church, but joined the Latter-day Saints after reading the Book of Mormon, a publication still debated among Christians today.</p><p>Booth joined the church after pedaling missionaries dressed in suits and ties knocked on his door in Upstate New York. He was a 22-year-old college student at the time, and soon after hearing the word, he joined the church. Considered one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a total worldwide membership of more than 14.4 million. More than 78,000 Mormons reside in North Carolina. The Hendersonville church branched off from the growing Asheville Ward with about 120 members in the late 1970s.</p><p>Established then as the Hendersonville Branch, the congregation met in the Girl Scouts cabin near Five Points until the first phase of its new home was built in 1977.</p><p>Two phases of construction later, their meetinghouse at 2005 Brevard Road has nearly doubled from its original size.</p><p>Today, there is little room for expansion, but growth has remained steady. In the 1980s, the Brevard branch was formed from the burgeoning Hendersonville Ward.</p><p>“We expect that in a few years something similar will happen to our newly formed congregation,” Beasley said.</p><p>There are 138 temples, reserved for special services and training sessions, throughout the world. North Carolina holds an estimated 16 stakes, each representing a cluster of congregations.</p><p>“We just had two stakes created last year in the state,” Booth said.</p><p>“You'll ask, 'Why is it so many people are Latterday Saints? Why is the church growing like it is?' And it's because we don't tell other people what to do or that we're right and they're wrong. We say, discover for yourself,” Beasley said.</p>